Physical Sciences Inc. proposes to develop a new solid-state gamma camera for high-resolution and high-contrast SPECT imaging of small animals in vivo. Genetic cancer research using functional SPECT for biodistribution studies of radiotracers would directly benefit from such an imaging system. Based on double-sided strip detector technology this SPECT camera will provide superior energy resolution combined with fine spatial resolution in the 20 keV to 700 keV range. The camera development will result in a laboratory prototype camera system optimized for small animal imaging with an energy resolution better than 2 keV and an intrinsic spatial resolution of 1 mm or better. The improved performance of the proposed gamma camera will allow delineation of fine details and structures for in vivo imaging with high scatter rejection efficiency and improved image contrast. This camera system would potentially provide a powerful research tool for gene expression studies in vivo and for the development of radiopharmaceuticals. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: The proposed small animal SPECT camera would provide superior energy and spatial resolution, and would thus be an ideal instrument for the measurement of the biodistribution of radiotracers with high resolution and high contrast. Potential applications for this new gamma camera would include various biomedical research areas that require suitable high- resolution molecular imaging tools, for example, to investigate the biochemical activity of tumors in vivo, to stady gene expression in cancer research, and to test new radiopharmaceuticals for functional imaging applications.